To gutheslth. To diagnose Collagenous , or the other types of ‘Microscopic Colitis, they have to take several biopsies during the colonoscopy. I think lots of people miss this diagnosis because biopsies are not taken. Yes, the SCD diet did help improve things somewhat, but I still had diarrhea, though somewhat reduced in the number of times a day. It was the bloating and gas that was helped most, and the sense of never completely being finished with a ‘bowel movement’. I do believe gluten is not the culprit for me. The problem I think for me on the SCD diet was that there was a lot of roughage, and a lot of seeds and nuts etc. I am just now considering a ‘low residue ‘ diet as a possibility for getting symptoms under control.
I think that occult blood can be from the effects of diarrhea itself: that alone should be enough to irritate the lining of the rectum and colon and produce occult blood I would think.
My most problematic time is about 5 hours after eating dinner ( a bigger meal than the rest of the day). That’s about the time I think the digestive process reaches the large colon.
What is most uncomfortable is the large volume of diarrhea ( = pressure in the colon) as a result of the collagen band interfering with water absorption from the colon. Sometimes I am amazed at the amount. Really. Where else can you talk about these things except a place like this. You know being able to say these ‘forbidden’ things is a great help to people suffering with something that you can’t usually discuss with others ( not exactly a welcome topic). Here at least: discuss away.